New hope for cancer-stricken Marine

Tom Gervasi, alongside his wife, Elaine, was a Marine in 1954-56 at Camp LeJuene. Like many other men who were stationed at LeJuene, Gervasi developed breast cancer after drinking contaminated water at the site.

Published: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 6:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 6:10 p.m.

Tom Gervasi, alongside his wife, Elaine, was a Marine in 1954-56 at Camp LeJuene. Like many other men who were stationed at LeJuene, Gervasi developed breast cancer after drinking contaminated water at the site.

HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2012 / ELAINE LITHERLAND

Facts

THE STORY SO FAR

Tom Gervasi of Sarasota believes his deadly male breast cancer was caused by drinking contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in 1956. He hopes to receive compensation under a new law to help his wife after his death. The VA has denied his application twice.

This week: A new report shows the base's water was contaminated when he was there. Gervasi will file his claim again based on the new information.

He and Elaine, his wife of 56 years, had just received more bad news Wednesday. Once again, Gervasi had been denied compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the rare and deadly male breast cancer he blames on contaminated drinking water from his days at Camp Lejeune.

But late Thursday, the Sarasota retiree learned the loophole that had plagued his quest for justice might have closed.

“It's all happening so fast,” he said Friday. “But this has sort of put a smile on my face and Elaine's. The other call had kind of taken the wind out of our sails.”

After repeated delays, the federal agency researching the year the North Carolina base's drinking water became tainted with toxic chemicals finally had an answer — 1953.

Gervasi trained there in 1956.

No one disputes anymore that the water at the camp was contaminated for three decades with volatile organic compounds from fuel runoff and dry cleaning chemicals.

But 2012 legislation providing disability assistance for those stricken with a variety of cancers stipulated that to be eligible, Marines and their families had to have lived on the base in 1957 or later.

Gervasi missed that cutoff by about six months.

The new report from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry opens a door for him to receive help.

Mike Partain of Polk County, who says he also contracted male breast cancer after being born on the base, has become an advocate for the 82 men diagnosed so far with the rare cancer.

“This is yet another piece of the puzzle that's coming together and slowly exposing the extent of the contamination at Camp Lejeune — and the Marine Corps' culpability and negligence,” he says. “This is four years overdue.”

The Marines were slow to react after ground-water samples first showed contamination on the base in the early 1980s. Some drinking water wells were closed in 1984 and 1985, after further testing confirmed contamination.

Health officials believe as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to tainted water. It's not clear how many Marines and family members will be affected by the expansion of the timeline, but Partain estimates thousands.

In a letter to Gen. Allison Hickey, VA undersecretary for benefits, the head of the toxic substance registry said that the new legislation didn't go back far enough.

“I hope this information is useful as the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates claims from veterans who served at USMC Camp Lejeune prior to the release of our full water modeling report in the spring,” agency Director Christopher J. Portier wrote in the letter, dated Wednesday.

The letter was first released publicly during a meeting Thursday of the agency's community assistance panel at the disease registry headquarters in Atlanta. Former Marines and family members angrily questioned officials about why these studies have taken so long to complete.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Motz said she got the disease registry letter Thursday. She did not have immediate comment on it. A VA spokesman said that agency was looking into the letter.

Former Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger singled out Gervasi's case at the meeting.

“We've got veterans out there with life-ending diseases,” said Ensminger, who blames the contamination for the leukemia that killed his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, in 1985. “These people are terminal, and they need this information.”

In a prepared statement, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said he hopes the new dates will help people like Gervasi.

“It is my hope that VA will act quickly to amend their policy and review relevant disability claims that have been denied,” the statement said. “These men and women have been suffering through no fault of their own and we owe them the care they need without delay.”

Gervasi does not know if he will live long enough to see the results of his efforts. Breast cancer cells have invaded his bones and lungs. His most recent MRI showed the cancer has not progressed beyond the results of six months before, but he knows the clock is ticking.

“It's really up to God how much time I have,” Gervasi says.

When the Herald-Tribune first reported on his struggle in November, Gervasi said he hoped to have this issue resolved before his death for the sake of his wife, whom he married at the chapel in Camp Lejeune in 1956.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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